7 Important things toppers do to tackle the JEE Mains questions
In every engineering aspirant’s life, the JEE Mains is the first ‘real’ outlook at what competition looks like, since they are competing with a potential 11 lakh Class XII students across India, who are writing this examination. Students who pour their sweat and blood into preparing for the JEE are successful, those who don’t give it their best and are only writing the exam because of peer pressure or their family certainly don’t get the desired result. The difference between the ones who are successful and who aren’t is that, the ones who clear the exam extensively give their preparation time attempting JEE Mains previous year question papers.
Every coaching institute, previous years’ achiever, your mentor/teacher or the various JEE preparation websites and blogs that one may refer to will stress on how important the JEE Mains previous year question papers are in the JEE Mains preparation.
Here is a list of important things that toppers incorporate in their study schedule in order to ensure that they can successfully clear the JEE:
#1 A clearly defined goal with a roadmap
Whether it an examination or any other task that you are trying to accomplish, it is extremely important to have a plan of action and the steps that need to be undertaken to get to the goal. As an engineering aspirant preparing for the JEE, your goal must be to successfully clear the JEE Mains and the JEE Advanced in order to secure admission in the course and college of your choice. Once you know this, think about what it takes to get to this goal. JEE aspirants on an average start preparing at least two to three years in advance for the exam, because of the level of difficulty and the competition that the exam attracts. If you think it is difficult to draw out a two-year study schedule, then start by setting short term goals like a weekly or a monthly timetable, which can be subject to revision based on the pace at which you study and your priorities towards your school assignments and exams. The study schedule must include a mixture of going through the coursework and practising JEE Mains previous year question papers.
A student who is serious about cracking the JEE must be clear about putting every other aspect of their lives on hold until they attain success in the JEE Mains and JEE Advanced.
#2 Time management techniques
Along with equipping yourself with the course and topics that will be asked in the examination, competitive examinations also help you develop your soft skills such as time management which is important to have for every other aspect of your life. On speaking to several JEE toppers, they suggested the following time management techniques can have helped them immensely:
- Beginning their day by studying and completing a difficult topic
- Prioritising their tasks
- Setting time constraints on a timer clock so that they complete their study task within the given time
- Break down bigger tasks into several small tasks so that they can be achieved
- Eliminate distractions by creating a To-Don’t List
#3 Self-discipline and a positive attitude
Developing self-discipline and having a positive attitude are two skills that cannot be inculcated overnight and can only come with repeated practice. For a 16-18-year-old student who, one can say, is at the peak of their youth and is discovering various facets of their personality, being disciplined about how they conduct themselves with regards to prioritizing their work against their play time, can be challenging. The one common characteristic in every past JEE topper is that they knew that if they wanted to crack the JEE then it would only be possible unless they had a strict study routine and they followed it to the T. Past toppers have confessed that they too have faced disappointment and fear of not clearing the exam. But they would not let that deter them from their goal. They would dust themselves up and move on because they believed that small setbacks and failures shouldn’t affect their JEE result.
#4 Time dedicated towards JEE Mains previous year question papers
One of the key aspects of the JEE preparation is attempting JEE Mains previous year question papers. Past year JEE toppers and teachers have emphasised the importance of the previous year papers several times in various forums. Devoting time to looking at JEE Mains previous year question papershelps aspirants to understand the exam patternand the type of questions that they can expect. Incorporating the practice of JEE Mains previous year question papersfrom the beginning of the study schedule can help the students get an understanding of what they should be working towards. As the student proceeds in their JEE preparation, the time given to solving JEE Mains previous year question papers should increase. For example: In the first month, if the student spends 30 minutes solving a previous year JEE paper, then by the fourth month, the student must have increased this time to at least 2 hours.
#5 Time dedicated to attempting mock tests
Mock tests are designed out of JEE Mains previous year question papersby coaching institutes, websites and JEE teaching faculty. These aren’t actual questions which have been asked in the previous years in the JEE Mains exam, but they could have some of the numbers replaced, or the difficulty level modified. For a JEE aspirant, more number of questions they practice, the better prepared they will be. A combination of JEE Mains previous year question papersand mock tests is instrumental in determining how well prepared the student will be for the JEE exam.
#6 Make notes, flashcards, formula sheets that you can refer to from time to time
Since the JEE exam covered everything that the student has studied in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics from Class VI onwards, there are too many things for the student to remember and learn. Start by making a list of all formulas which you can stick on your study table or somewhere you can see every day. While studying a topic, summarize the topic in your own words, that you can refer back to when you are doing your revision. Past year toppers say that maintaining notes systematically for every topic in a way that can be easily understood by them, is how they were able to succeed in the JEE.
#7 Complete the syllabus well before the examination
Ideally, a serious JEE aspirant should have gone through the JEE syllabus at least 4-5 months before the JEE Mains exam. This will leave them with enough time for revision and focusing on the important topics once again and practising JEE Mains previous year question papers.Every past JEE topper attribute their success to leaving the last 100-150 days before the examination to only attempting tests and revising the topics that they struggle with, in the mock tests or previous year papers.
The habits mentioned above have worked for previous year JEE toppers and have seen a 100 percent success rate. If clearing the JEE is your goal, then you must adopt these practices will only do you good.
All the best!
